


Power Outage

by ZpanSven



Series: Carrie Allen is the Flash [10]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Genderbending, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-03 20:44:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4114354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZpanSven/pseuds/ZpanSven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carrie goes up against Farooq aka Blackout, a metahuman who can harness electricity and has a vendetta against Dr Wells. What's worse, his abilties seem to drain Carrie of hers!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The blaring of the alarm dragged her out of her sleep. She blinked blearily as she rolled over and looked at the alarm clock tat read 9:20. 

“Oh no!”

Eyes wide in horror, she bolted out of the bed at super-speed, blurring around the room to remake her bed and strip out of her night gown, before swiftly dressing in the clothes she had laid out the night before. Rushing into the bathroom, she brushed and flossed her teeth before running a brush through her hair. 

Not like it helped much. 

Urgh. 

At least she kept a brush in her satchel, she could fix her hair later.

And like that she was out the door and hurrying to Jitters for her coffee. And found the line backed up to the door. Her shoulders slumped in dismay as she watched the young man behind the counter fumbling with making orders.

“Why do they let the new guy train during the morning rush?” the woman ahead of her sighed in disapproval.

Carrie nibbled on her lower lip as she eyed the line and the overwhelmed young man behind the counter. 

...oh what the hell.

In a blur, she was behind the counter, assisting the young man while moving too rapidly to really be seen. She'd worked with Iris during summer breaks in college, so she knew her way around behind the counter. She rushed out from behind the counter, putting drinks in everyone's hands and leaving the exact change for the coffees in the tip jar.

There was a surprised murmuring as people looked at the coffees in their hand in shock. She exchanged a wide-eyed look with the woman ahead of her.

Enough time wasted dawdling, she had to get to to STAR Labs, she was already late!

Coming out the door, she was hurrying at a perfectly normal pace away from Jitters when a man came up behind her, slamming a hand on her shoulder and sticking what distinctly felt like a gun in her ribs.

“Don't try nothin',” he hissed in her ear, guiding her from the sidewalk and into the alleyway.

She was shoved into the wall, the gun he aimed at her was held up and high. What did he do, watch rap videos to learn how to handle a gun? “Gimme the bag and you can walk away.”

Carrie made a disgusted noise at him while setting her coffee aside. “If there was an Olympics for bad luck and stupidity, you wouldn't just get a medal – you'd have Micheal Phelps-ed.”

“What?” He blinked in surprise when she suddenly vanished in a blur.

Carre was feeling a touch vindictive at the man who had made her even later for her time at STAR Labs, stripping him down to his undershirt and boxers before grabbing a patrol officer and dropping him off beside the man. As the cop tried to figure out what the hell just happened, she resumed her place at the wall, picking up her coffee and clutching it to her.

With the biggest wide-eyed look she could manage, she met the patrolman's eyes. “Oh thank God! I...I think this guy is high and he was trying to rob me and--”

And of course they had to go down to the department. Thankfully she had the presence of mind to text Cisco to let them know she'd be running late. 

One filed police report later and her coffee was gone.

\----

They were waiting for her when she arrived in the Cortex in a blur of speed. She sagged against the door frame. “I'm so sorry, you won't believe it - someone tried to mug me. Again! That police report took forever.”

“Police report?” Caitlin echoed and Carrie found herself on the receiving end of two looks of confusion and one of exasperation.

“...didn't Cisco tell you? I sent him a text!”

“...oooops...” Cisco blushed in embarrassment. “My phone's in the other room charging...”

“I'm gonna need a moment or two alone with Carrie,” Dr Wells informed Caitlin and Cisco.

She blushed hotly even as Caitlin practically bolted from the room, with Cisco trailing behind her.

“Oooh you're in trouble now...” he snickered, sidestepping the swat she sent to his shoulder.

Swallowing, she straightened from where she was leaning against the door frame and ventured farther into the room until she stood before him.

“Need I remind you, Ms Allen, that we had an agreement? We would help with your heroics out there while you help us with the research and develop your abilities in here, right?”

“Of course I remember,” she looked at him with wounded eyes. “I'm here almost every day and...I know I've been a little caught up with being able to help people and put away bad guys...” She gestured helplessly with her hands. “I...it feels good. Right.”

“Imagine how good and right it will feel to cure diseases, stop aging, and reverse paralysis...”

She nodded. “All things I want to help do. So...how do I further help aside form what I'm already doing when I'm here...? Do we need to do more MRIs or...?”

“More speed, I think. After all speed is the key to progress and it seems to make your body run more efficiently.” he said and as he spoke, her cellphone began to vibrate in her back pocket. “You need to kick it up a notch.”

“I will,” she promised and shifted, pulling out her cellphone. She frowned at her phone, speed-reading the text from Joe and then looked at him apologetically. “I'm sorry, I have to go. There's been a homicide...”

“This...is not just about you. Remember that, Carrie.”

She blushed hotly even as she nodded. “I know. I'll be back as soon as I can. And then I can run on the treadmill, see if I can up my speed some more.”

“Good girl,” he smiled faintly.


	2. Chapter 2

She pulled back the tarp over the corpse in a mixture of curiosity and frustration – tarps were terrible and could contaminate the evidence on the body. At the sight of the charred corpse, she crinkled her nose faintly. 

Oh boy.

Carrie was aware of Joe and Eddie approaching. She glanced at them over her shoulder. “I hope you two skipped breakfast.”

“Whoa,” Joe shook his head, looking vaguely nauseous. 

Eddie was already turning green. “What the hell can do that?!”

“Two-thousand-four-hundred-and-twenty degrees, give or take,” she replied.

“This area is filled with combustibles!” Joe exclaimed. “How come nothing else was burned up?!”

She was walking away from them towards a scaffolding. Joe and Eddie exchanged confused glances before the elder detective called out: “Where are you going?”

“You see where the soot is on the concrete?” She asked, while scaling the scaffolding.

“Yeah....?”

“That is the evidence of an arc blast,” she said, standing on the top of the scaffolding. Shifting to brace herself, she began to take pictures of the soot pattern. “It happens when high-amperage currents travel or arc through the air.”

“But there are no live wires or utility poles...” Joe said with a frown.

“So how the hell was this guy electrocuted?” Eddie asked, puzzled.

“So far? I have no idea,” she shrugged, shifting to climb down the scaffolding.

“First things first then – we need to ID this guy.”

“His face is melted off,” Eddie looked skeptical, watching as Carrie took a picture of the corpse's face. “How is that picture going to help ID him?”

“Would it reassure you to know I have mad skills?” she asked.

“Please never say that again,” Joe grumbled and she pouted at him.

“Fine. If you must know!” she stood with a huff. “His skull is still intact and the with facial markers in place and relatively undamaged, we can digitally reconstruct his face using the same software used by by anthropologists at the Jeffersonian.”

“How are we going to get a hold of software like that?” Eddie frowned at her.

“We might not be able to but I'm pretty sure my friend Caitlin out at STAR Labs might have something that'll work!” She was beaming and he grinned back at her. The only one who didn't seem upbeat by the possibility of IDing their John Doe was...Joe.

“...you alright?” she asked him in worry. “You don't look so good...”

“I'm alright,” he said dismissively.

“If you say so,” she snorted. He probably was sick and not wanting to say anything. That was just like him....


	3. Chapter 3

“Good call bring this to us – with this software we should be able to identify your crispy corpse,” Cisco said as he sat at his computer.

“The question is how did he get fried in the first place,” Carrie replied, peering over Cisco's shoulder. “There was no logical way for it to have happened where it did, which makes me worry there might be a meta-human out there who can control electricity...”

“It'd take a serious electrostatic discharge to cause that level of tissue damage,” Dr Wells murmured.

The computer beeped at Cisco. “Hey guys? According to this software, there is an eighty-two percent chance your victim looked like this...”

The picture was...not as good as she had been hoping. She bit her lower lip. “Eighty-two...?”

“It was zero when you walked in here,” he reminded her.

She sighed and nodded. “Well it's a start. Is there anyway to cross-reference this picture with what's in the DMV database? Maybe if we're lucky we can get a name...”

“Absolutely. This software can do just about anything since Felicity reprogrammed it.” Cisco snorted in amusement as he tapped on his keyboard. Almost immediately a result came back. “Casey Donahue. No wife or kids and used to work at the Petersburg electrical substation...”

“That can't be a coincidence,” Caitlin said, frowning slightly.

“That's weird,” Cisco straightened. “Someone used his ID to enter the substation.”

Caitlin stood in alarm. “The Petersburg grid is experiencing a power-drain right now!”

Carrie's eyes meet Dr Wells.

“Carrie, be careful!” 

“I will,” she replied before speeding off, changing into her suit and making a dash for the Petersburg substation.

When she arrived she could feel the electricity in the air, could hear it whine and crackle. Cautiously she approached and found a man channeling the electricity from the substation into himself? What the...was he like some sort of energy vampire?

“He's...absorbing the electricity,” she said softly over the comm as she approached, trying to remain quite and from attracting his attention. “Like a...a leech or something.”

“The grid's about to fail,” Caitlin warned her. 

“I'll see what I can do,” she replied and raised her voice, modulating it as she stepped from behind where she had been hiding. “I'm pretty sure this is a restricted area!”

The electricity stopped arcing as he turned, regarding her over his shoulder with bright blue eyes that looked the same color of the electricity he had been draining from the substation. The look on his face... She was reminded of some of the addicts that were brought through booking.

He turned to face her completely and lashed out with a hand; she sped to the side, dodging an electrical bolt.

“Oh shit,” she hissed in fear.

“I have to feed,” he said in a hoarse voice.

Yup. Just like the addicts down in booking, she decided as he began to stalk towards her. The glint in his eye was the only warning when he flung out another bolt; she sped to the side. And then he threw another. She was dodging his strikes the best she could in the complicated obstacle course that was the substation.

Unfortunately...it wasn't enough; she screamed in pain when a bolt hit her square in the back, causing her to fall to a knee. The pain was blinding and she didn't see the golden lightning being drawn from her body and into his. There were spots in her vision and she couldn't breath and it hurt--

“Carrie!” Dr Wells sounded so far away but she managed to push up and bolt away.

It was sporadic, how she was running... Her speed it...was almost like the day she had woke up, her speed coming and going into erratic spurts until she fell to the ground.

“...hurts...” she whimpered as she struggled to her feet. “...hit me...lightning....hurts...”

“Carrie, what's going happening?” Dr Wells was saying in her ear.

“...can't run...feel...wrong...”

Ozone crackled in the air and she turned to see him coming toward her, lifting his hands. 

“...no...no...” she shook her head as the palms of his hands gleamed and she tried to bolt away. The speed wasn't there and she hurt and everything felt so slow---

\--and the lightning hit her again, right in the back and she screamed, her throat raw as it felt like her very life essence was being drained from her body. And then it abruptly stopped and she collapsed to the ground, whimpering in agony.

Very faintly she could hear the man muttering to himself but couldn't make out the words.

“Carrie, get out of there!” Dr Wells commanded.

Keening faintly in pain, she pushed herself back to her feet and tried to dart forward; again her speed spurted before stopping and she sagged against a metal pillar for support.

“Run, Carrie!”

“I can't,” she sobbed. “...my speed...I can't...its gone...”


	4. Chapter 4

She was hiding, nearly curled up in the shadows at the base of one of the many massive metal structures inside the substation, fearful the man would find her and finish...whatever that was he had done to take her speed. Scared...so scared... Her breathing hitched at every little sound.

“Carrie,” Dr Wells's voice was gentle in her ear. “Its alright. Joe and Caitlin are almost there. When they get there, you get to them as fast as you can make yourself move and they will bring you here where its safe.”

“Okay,” she whimpered softly.

It felt like forever until Dr Wells whispered to her that they were pulling up outside the substation.

She took a breath and forced herself to stand on wobbly legs, rushing through the substation, looking over her shoulder in terror. Honestly she was expecting him to be lurking in every shadow, ready to leap out and to...to feed on her, like a parasite or vampire---

Joe was there, his gun held at the ready when she ran towards him; she was breathing heavily and her face was pale and sweaty. She hurt so badly---

Caitlin pulled her into the car and there was a Bluetooth clipped to her ear. Faintly Carrie could make out Caitlin speaking to Dr Wells as Joe drove them away and back to STAR Labs at a breakneck speed.

Once there, Joe scooped her up, like he used to do when she was smaller and follow Caitlin into the medical room.

Hello again, medical bed, my dearest friend, I'm back, Carrie through deliriously, barely making out Iris's pale face on the other side of the observation window beside Cisco.

Joe helped Caitlin strip the jacket of her suit off and he winced at the sight of the burns on her back. 

“Hurts,” she keened, gripping the front of his jacket as Caitlin inspected the wound.

“These electrical burns aren't healing like they should be,” she muttered in worry and then reached for something Carrie hadn't had in a long time – a topical painkiller. It was cold where she sprayed it over the burn and Carrie hissed faintly before relaxing as the pain numbed.

“...how does that feel?” 

“Better. Numbing,” Carrie muttered, her grip loosing on Joe's jacket. She shifted slightly, tucking her head under his chin.

“This doesn't make sense, your speed and metabolism is in your DNA, put there by the transformation by the particle accelerator blast, there's no way he could have ripped your DNA apart and stolen it from you...” Caitlin whispered. The words 'and you still be alive' hung unsaid in the air.

“Is this...temporary?” Joe asked, petting Carrie's hair before shifting, sliding off the medical bed and letting Carrie rest on her side.

“We still have to run more tests,” Dr Wells said with a shake of his head as he rolled his chair up to beside where Joe stood at the bedside. “...we were wrong about this meta-human doesn't electrocute people...he siphons electricity...this could be how he removed Carrie's powers...”

She shifted, looking at Dr Wells, with fear stark in her eyes. “...what happens if this is permanent...”

“Carrie...” Dr Wells leaned forward in his chair, reaching out and gently taking on of her hands in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We will find a way to restore your speed. I promise you that. You will be alright.”

“Thank you, Dr Wells,” she mumbled.

“Get some rest. We'll run some more tests once you feel a little more rested.”


	5. Chapter 5

She was hugging herself, staring at her suit when Caitlin stepped up beside her. They exchanged a glance before Carrie's eyes turned back to the suit.

“...do you think I'll ever wear it again?” she asked softly.

“I hope so,” Caitlin replied.

“I know....that I've not had my speed for very long...” she whispered. “...but with it gone...it feels like part of me is gone too.”

“With or without your speed, you are still you, Carrie,” the doctor reassured her, hugging her impulsively.

“But...I'm not. Not the best version of me,” she replied; there was a burning of tears as they welled up. “When I'm the Flash I feel...stronger, more alive. The feel of the wind in my face when I'm running hundreds of miles per hour...the lightning rushing in my veins... Having the ability to be able to help people... Like this I feel like that...that awkward little girl everyone pities... I don;t think I can live like that again. I can't...live without who I've become...

“Farooq Gibron,” Cisco announced

“....who?” She blinked at Cisco, wiping at her eyes. 

“The energy vampire who jacked your speed,” he growled, passing Carrie his tablet. “I hacked into the surveillance footage from the Petersburg substation. Once I got his face, he was easy to find a match.”

'Two dead, one hurt in freak accident' the headline of the Central City Gazette read.

“He was...climbing an electrical tower the night of the particle accelerator explosion...”

“No surprise where his powers came from,” Caitlin murmured.

And then a beeping alarm had them looking up in momentary confusion. Carrie was blinking still as Cisco bolted over to one of the monitors, tapping on a keyboard.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” he exclaimed as Carrie and Caitlin exchanged a worried look and hurried over to him. “This is not happening...”

Peering over his shoulder, Carrie paled at the sight of the 'vampire' who had stolen her speed. 

“Dr Harrison Wells!” Farooq howled. “I need to see you! C'mon I know you're inside. Open the door! I just need to talk to him. WELLS! Let. me. IN!”

Carrie gripped Cisco's sleeve as Farooq suddenly spun around, lashing out with a hand and directing a blast of electricity at the power transformer outside of STAR Labs., causing the doors to fly open. He reached in, yanking out two of the primary cables; electricity arced as he began to drain the power.

Her breath hitched in fear as the lights flickered. 

“He'll knock out the power to most the city if this keeps up,” Cisco hissed in worry.

As they stood in the dark, she trembled. Seconds stretched like hours before the floor trembled under their feet in time to a faint explosion.

“...he's...he's inside....” she whimpered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to think ahead for Legends of Tomorrow, since that'll bring in Vandal Savage who from what i understand spent a few of his lifetimes as artists (painter, poet, writer...) and am torn between what animals he'd compare Eobard and Carrie to: Stag and Doe? Or Stallion and Mare? Or something completely different?


	6. Chapter 6

Why was no one answering at the precinct?! Carrie was near hyperventilating as she gave in and dialed Captain Singh's number.

“Not now, Allen,” he growled on answering.

“Captain Singh! I can't reach Joe or anyone at the precinct...” 

He paused and for a moment, she thought he might have hung up before he spoke again. “There's a hostage situation going on...Joe and Iris are inside, Carrie. I'll call you when I know more.”

“Wait!” she said as he disconnected. 

She stared at her cellphone, trembling in fear. 

“...Carrie...?” Caitlin peered at her, concerned she might go into shock.

“Joe and Iris are in danger,” she whimpered before whirling around, her eyes wide and fearful as they met Dr Wells's, walking towards him in desperation. “I need my powers back. I need to save them!”

“I have a theory,” he told her as she came to a stop before him. “Its untested.”

“I...I don't care,” she reached out, grabbing his hand in pleading. “I trust you, Dr Wells. I believe in you.”

“Okay.” He nodded and let her continue cling to his hand. “You have lost your speed, yes...but nothing inside you has changed on a sub-atomic level. In other words, your cells are still primed--”

“--they just need a jump-start,” Cisco breathed.

She nodded. “Alright. So...how do we...we jump-start me?”

“We need to replicate the initial jolt to your system.”

“But that would mean a peak current of at least twenty-thousand kiloamps.” Cisco spluttered

“Are you insane?! That's more electricity than they give to people in the electric chair!” Caitlin objected.

“Caitlin...with Farooq in the building, we're all looking at a death sentence here,” Dr Wells retorted. 

“The spare generator's offline, if we reboot it, we could get a charge that big.” Cisco said.

“We need something that can transmit the load from the generator to Carrie's body without shorting out.”

“...the treadmill. My baby can take the charge.”

“And what if Carrie can't?”

“That...is up to Ms Allen,” Dr Wells said,giving Carrie's hand a reassuring squeeze.

She wanted to try but first...maybe he could be...reasoned with...?

She had to try. 

She released Dr Wells's hand and he looked at her, a brow arched. “I want to try to talk to him.”

“No!” Dr Wells grabbed her hand. “No, absolutely not!”

“At the substation....he...he needed to feed. I ended up with super-speed from the explosion...but he? He lost his best-friends and woke up with a disease...”

“Earlier today you went to a crime scene where he electrocuted an innocent man. He is a murderer, Carrie,” Dr Wells said harshly. “And you are powerless to defend yourself against him.”

Her lips and the hand he held tightly trembled; he tangled his fingers in hers, holding her fast. “...but what if he just...needs help like I did...? I don't need my powers to offer him that...”

“He could kill you, just like he killed Casey Donahue.”

“I have to try,” she pleaded. “Please let me try. And...I can distract him, give Cisco enough time to set up the generator and the treadmill.”

Dr Wells bowed his head and he took a breath, his hold on her fingers loosening enough to let her pull away. “Be careful.”

“Very careful! If he starts sparking in your general direction, run!” Cisco added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I splurged and bought the digital copies of Flash Season Zero. From what I heard the first arc was supposed to take place between episodes one and two but Barry is fighting Captain Cold at the end? Color me confused. I think I'll play around with it, see where I can work it in. Question is....before or after Revenge of the Rogues? Hmm. Kinda want to say before. Might put it after this one is finished?


	7. Chapter 7

They would have ran into each other if not for the glow coming from his hands and the crackle of electricity that surrounded him letting her know he was there. He stared at her, hands upraised and eyes glowing.

She raised her hands, showing she was unarmed. “Stop! Please, I'm not going to hurt you.”

That probably would have sounded better if she hadn't been shaking and stammering as badly as she was. He looked at her with a visible expression of disbelief, his head head tilting.

“You can't hurt me,” he said in that deep, hoarse voice. “Where is Harrison Wells.”

“I...I know what happened to you...that night.” She licked her dry lips. “It changed you...and it changed me too.”

His hands were lowering and the glow was dying down. That was a good sign, right?

“You...were you the one in the red suit?”

She nodded.

“I fed from you.”

…that sounded rather dirty and she did not like the way his head just tilted. Nor did she like the way he stepped towards her. She automatically stepped back.

“I have to keep feeding,” he said.

“I...know this has to be terrifying for you, it was for me,” she said, keeping her hands in his view. “That's why I want to help you.”

“The night of the explosion, when the light hit me...it stopped my heart. Jake and Daria...”

“...your friends...?”

“I woke up and they were beside me. Dead. They were trying to give me CPR. They were touching me and I electrocuted them...” His head bowed, shoulder tight with grief.

“This is not your fault...” she reassured him gently.

“I know,” he breathed, looking back up and boring into her with those bright eyes. The glow in his hands returned and she could feel her heartbeat speed up in fear. “Wells did this to me.”

“Farooq, please, you need to listen to me--” she pleaded.

His hand lashed out, a bolt of electricity arcing through the air and striking her in the chest. With a scream of pain, she flew backwards, out past the doorway and past where the three scientists were hiding, listening. 

She wheezed for breath as Caitlin ran to her side. “Carrie!”

Faintly she was aware of Caitlin pulling her open the singed blouse to check her for fresh injuries. The sound of the door closing and Cisco's shout of “Not sure how that's going to hold!” echoed in the hallway.

Caitlin was helping her sit up and Carrie looked up at Dr Wells in pain; he shook his head. “Not everyone can be saved, Ms Allen. No matter how noble you are. Some are just too far gone.”

“Caitlin, get her to the treadmill. Cisco, you need to get the generator online and make sure Carrie gets the charge.”

“What? You're not coming with me?” Cisco asked in confusion as Caitlin helped Carrie limp away. “I am not leaving you!”

He turned the chair around to regard Cisco. “Listen to me. Of everything I've done in my life, of everything I have invented, my most important creation is the Flash. Carrie Allen must have a future. Now go!”

Farooq howled in rage on the other side of the door as he repeated: “Go!”

\------

It hurt so badly as he was helped to sit on the console by the treadmill and from the look on Caitlin's face as she double-checked the electrical burn... “My healing's not back, is it?”

The doctor shook her head, biting her lower lip in worry. Carrie groaned, leaning back against the console.

“Damn. I could really use it right now. So...how good are the chances that Dr Wells's theory will work?” she asked, nearly delirious in pain. “I'm not putting my faith in him just because he's got pretty eyes, am I?”

Caitlin refrained from snorting in laughter. “Generally if he has a theory its usually right.”

She swallowed in a combination of pain and worry. “...what if something happens to Joe and Iris first....?”

They heard the sound of the door opening and could see the glow of Farooq'd hands. Caitlin rushed over to Carrie, helping her to hide under the observation windows. They could see the faint flickering glow of the electricity he generated, hear it crackling on the other side of that glass.

The sounds and lights were shifting; he was approaching the door leading from the observation room into theirs. Caitlin gripped her hand tightly as they moved swiftly to one of the storage rooms. They had just closed its door when they heard him fry the lock on the observation room door and enter.

“Did you know the human body generates electricity? The average person gives off three-hundred-and-forty-two watts. I can smell it coming from you.”

…yeah like that wasn't creepy as all get out, Carrie thought with a shudder. She felt Caitlin reaching for her hand and they gripped their hands together tightly in terror.

And then the lights came on.

Sagging against Caitlin in relief, Carrie could hear his footsteps moving away from the storage room door. They exchanged a glance and waited a couple agonizing moments before exiting the room. Carrie immediately stepped onto the treadmill.

“Turn it on,” she grunted.

“You're still hurt” Caitlin objected.

“I know,” she whined in pain. “But we don't have time.”

Caitlin hesitated.

“Caitlin!” she pleaded.

“I can't!” Caitlin shook her head, her voice breaking.

“We don't have any choice!”

“If I turn this on, it could kill you,” she whispered.

“And if you don't, we could all die.”

“I already lost someone I cared about in this building, I can't do it again.”

“Caitlin...I'm scared too. But someone once told me that I was struck by that lightning for a reason. That it chose me. I'm not sure I believe it, but right now it doesn't matter what I believe...” She gripped the handlebar of the treadmill in preparation, looking at Caitlin. “What do you believe?”

Caitlin looked back and forth at the panel and Carrie, who nodded encouragingly depsite the pain visible on her face.

“C'mon...”

Carrie gripped the handlebar tightly as Caitlin flipped the switch. Electricity arced up from the bar and into her arms and body.

Oh God did it hurt. The palms of her hands burned; smoke rose up from where her flesh was burning and then, involuntarily, her muscles began to spasm, causing her to let go of the handlebar and go sailing across the room. She slammed into a wall and slid down it, slumping over.

Faintly she could hear Caitlin scream her name over the ringing in her ears. She blinked stupidly as Caitlin peered at her. “Are you okay? Did you feel anything?”

Carrie lifted a hand, looking at it...and it began to vibrate at high speeds...just like before. Hope momentarily soared in her chest---

And then it stopped, as suddenly as it started, causing her face to crumble. Her hand closed into a loose fist and her shoulders trembled as she sobbed. “It didn't work...”


	8. Chapter 8

As quietly as they could, she and Caitlin moved through the corridor – in the distance there was the sound of electricity arcing and...fighting? Confused, Carrie moved ahead of Caitlin to see a body go flying, slamming into the wall with a heavy, metallic thud.

Was that--

“--Tony?!” Carrie knelt beside him; there was blood coming from his mouth...in fact, he didn't look too good. He looked like he had been thoroughly thrashed... “What the hell are you doing?”

“C'mon...you know me...I never run from a fight!” he panted, his face pale and his grin weak.

“Tony, stay with me!” There was hysteria in her voice. 

His fingers were tight on her arm, pulling her closer as he whispered: “Run.”

“...Tony?” She whimpered as he sagged back down to the floor. “Tony!”

He wasn't moving – didn't look like he was breathing. “...no...”

Stepping around the corner was Farooq. Her eyes lifted from Tony's body to his killer.

“Carrie!” Caitlin was pulling frantically on her arm, dragging her out of the way of another of his blasts.

“Tony!”

\------

Cisco looked up in alarm as Caitlin helped Carrie into the generator room. “....you're winded, that's not good...”

She was breathing heavily, a combination of physical strain, agony, and seeing Tony...die. Sagging to the floor when Caitlin released her, she covered her face with trembling hands.

“I need to take your blood and figure out what happened...” Caitlin said.

“I...I can't believe he's dead...” she whimpered as Caitlin rolled her sleevfe up and prepped her arm to draw a blood vial.

“Dr Wells?!” Cisco asked in a strangle voice.

“No!” She shook her head. “Tony...Tony Woodward.”

“He must have escaped from the Pipeline.” Caitlin murmured.

“Must have happened when the blackout hit...”

“No, that's not possible. The Pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him go,” Cisco said, shaking his head.

“I did,” Dr Wells said, his voice rough. “I released him.”

“W-what? Why?!” Carrie asked him in shock.

“To divert our intruder's attention while we worked to restore your speed.”

“You used Tony as a distraction?!”

“A necessary one as it turns out, since it seems like the plan has failed,” he sighed, moving his chair further into the room.

Carrie took a shuddering breath, moving around the generator to face Dr Wells, gripping the front of her singed blouse – now stained with Tony's blood. .”I...have his blood on me. He practically died in my arms... How could you do that...?”

“You're showing quite a bit of sentiment for a man who tormented you as a child and then almost killed you twice not too long ago,” he replied, arching a brow.

“He didn't deserve to die!”

“Does Caitlin? Or Cisco?” He fired back. “Or me? Or you? I had a choice to make – him or us and I chose us without a second thought.”

She stumbled back, hugging herself. “...for all your talk about scientific breakthroughs and miracle cures... You...you don't really care about people at all, do you?”

“Maybe you care too much, Carrie. I know being a hero is important to you and I respect your ideals but I don't have the luxury of sharing them,” he said harshly.

“I don't care if I'm a hero,” she snapped, her voice raising with a hysterical edge. “I just want to help people! If its saving them from a burning building or my blood curing cancer, I just...want to help people...” She shuddered, shaking her head. “...your game is chess. I almost forgot... So...does that mean we're all just pawns to you? Like Tony was?” Her head lifted, eyes red-rimmed as they meet his. “So whats your move? Which one of use will you sacrifice next?”

A heavy silence fell over the room and she leaned against the wall and slid down it, resting her arms on her knees and burying her head in her arms.

After a moment, Dr Wells took a breath and released it. “We have to get out of the facility.”

“We just left him on D-level,” Carrie mumbled.

“We'll never make it from the main entrance from here,” Caitlin agreed.

“What about the garage?” Cisco suggested. “The mobile-lab van?”

“That's my move, Ms Allen. And I say we make a run for it,” Dr Wells rasped as he looked at the girl sitting against the wall; she looked back at him with tired, reddened eyes.

“Oh my god!” Caitlin straightened in surprise, staring at her laptop's screen. “Carrie, look!” 

The urgency in Caitlin's voice had her standing and moving over to peer over her shoulder.

“Your cells are rapidly regenerating!”

Surprise surged through her and she felt Cisco tap her arm, drawing her attention to her hand and she lifted it. Carrie's eyes widened at seeing it vibrating at high speed again...and it stopped once more. 

She whined in distress, her hand curling into a loose fist. “Its still not back...”

“It must be mental,” Dr Wells said. “Not physical.”

“Ohho!” Cisco looked at Carrie. “You have the Yips!”

“The what?” She blinked back at him in confusion.

“You know, like when a second baseman suddenly can't throw to first or a golfer tries to put and then they get all embarrassed and upset...and that makes the Yips worse and then its a hot mess and makes them feel even more like a failure...” he trailed off.

“...this....isn't helping....”

Caitlin rose to her feet, taking Carrie's hand in her. “You asked me earlier if I believed in anything. And I believe you were struck by that lightning for a reason, that you were chosen. And you should too.”

As she opened her mouth to speak, they could hear something exploding a floor above them.

“Let's move,” Dr Wells rasped.


	9. Chapter 9

As they entered the garage, all she could think of as that she wasn't hurting quite as much as she had been, so that had to be a good sign right?

“Its the second van, the keys are inside!” Cisco called to Carrie as she darted forward. 

The keys were there, just like he had said, she found as she climbed into the van. She turned the key in the ignition and could hear the engine start up smoothly. A sigh of relief escaped her and she could see the garage door opening. From the driver's side mirror she could see Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr Wells hurrying towards the van.

They were halfway to the van when the engine spluttered before dying and the garage door stopped moving; the lights flickered ominously and Dr Well's chair stopped working. Frantically she tried to start the engine again; it whined but didn't crank.

In the quiet of the garage, she could hear Dr Wells: “He's here.”

Looking up over the steering wheel she could see him coming out of the stairwell. Carrie's eyes locked with his and he smiled, this crazed terrifying smile that had her fumbling for the door-latch as he threw his hands forward. She screamed in fear as she flung herself from the van.

“Carrie!” Caitlin called out, hurrying to to the younger woman, Cisco hurrying behind her. “Are you okay?”

She groaned, pushing herself up as they knelt on either side of her, about to drag her out of Farooq's path. He was stalking towards him, lifting those glowing hands; a charge was building.

“No, no please!” Caitlin keened.

“Hey!” Dr Wells's voice boomed in acoustics of the garage, gaining Farooq's attention. The meta-human turned, facing the wheelchair bound man, who was glaring at him. “You're here for me.”

“Finally you show your face...”

“Well I wasn't exactly eager to be killed,” he snapped.

Farooq stalked slowly towards Dr Wells. “Neither were my friends.”

“I know. I hurt a lot of people that night.”

“People?! You don't even know their names!” he accused.

“Jake Davenport. Daria Kim. Ralph Dibny. Al Rothstein. Grant Emerson. Will Everett. Bea DeCosta.” His eyes slid to Caitlin. “...Ronnie Raymond.” Dr Wells looked back to Farooq. “I know the names of every person who died that night. And I know they all mattered and the fact that the world is now deprived of of their potential is something I have to live with every day.”

He took a breath. “But these people...” his eyes slid to where Cisco and Caitlin clung to Carrie, who was struggling to get up. “These people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine. Let's do that. But let these people live.”

Pushing at their hands, Carrie was fighting to get back to her feet as Dr Wells met her eyes. There was so much resolve there....

“You died that night too,” Farooq announced, lashing out with his hands, sending two bolt of electricity at Dr Wells; the impact sent him flying from his wheelchair as Carrie screamed, straining against the tight grip her friends had on her. “You just didn't know it until today.”

That thrum of power, of energy she had been used to since waking up roared through her veins. Her pupils dilated, golden lightning flickering over her blue eyes...and everything slowed. The electricity arcing from Farooq's hands was like a crawl as it moved towards Dr Wells's prone form. 

And then she moved, freeing herself from Caitlin and Cisco's hands, darting forward to Dr Wells's side; she leaned in, slipping her arms around his torso and pulling him to her tightly. Pulling him out of the path of the oncoming electricity, she carried him over to where she herself had been between Cisco and Caitlin. The arcs struck the concrete where he had once been, sparks flying everywhere.

Kneeling there, she checking him for visible injuries. He looked alright... Gently she straightened his glasses, which had been skewed from being thrown from his chair.

“Carrie!” Dr Wells's hand lifted to grip at her shoulder. 

She smiled at him softly before blurring away, racing around the van to face Farooq. The other meta's nostrils flared as he glared at the girl facing him now in her bluejeans and the bloodstained blouse. There was an almost serenity to her eyes as she watched him, watched the way his muscles tensed and shifted before he lashed out to strike her with his electricity. 

She blurred to the side once, twice, three times until on the fourth dodge, a bolt struck her in the center of her chest...and then another. Facing him she could see the golden lightning that was escaping her and flowing towards him. 

It hurt. And from the look on his face it was hurting him too.

A feedback loop? Or something...? Maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew this time.

She wasn't sure, in too much pain to think clearly as they both fell to their knees before everything stilled, the electricity shorting out. As she was gasping for breath, Farooq collapsed before her. As she dragged in a breath, a single thought entered her mind. The hostage situation.

“Iris...Joe...” she breathed and was gone in a crackle of golden lightning.


	10. Chapter 10

The station was still darkened when she arrived; evidence was being collected and there was crime scene tape everywhere. Across the room, she watched Captain Singh walking next to a gurney. As she approached, she realized it was Eddie who was strapped to it, unconscious with his shirt bloodstained and a makeshift tourniquet on his arm.

“Eddie!” She could feel the blood drain from her face as she watched them cart her sister's boyfriend away into the back of an ambulance. 

Distraught, she barely paid attention as two SWAT officers all but dragged a limping man in handcuffs past.

“Carrie!” Hunter was there by her side and she turned to him.

“Hunter, what happened? Captain Singh wouldn't say on the phone--” She asked in panic, her hands lifting, clenching into nervous fists.

He took her hands in his, gently unfurling her fists. “There was a prisoner transfer tonight – when the blackout happened, he took advantage of the confusion and took one of the uniform's gun... Three of us were shot, including Eddie....”

“Iris and Joe?” her voice was tight and eyes wide, and he pulled her in for a hug. 

Carrie clutched the front of Hunter's shirt, drawing comfort from his warmth and strength. 

“Are fine,” he soothed, gently running his fingers through her hair. “Iris is shaken up – she managed to get Eddie's backup and nail the guy in the leg when he tried to take her with him as a hostage.”

“Where are they?”

“Over on the stairs,” Hunter stepped back, taking her head and leading her to where Joe sat beside Iris, holding her.

“Dad? Iris?” Carrie whined faintly.

Hunter watched as the pair practically leapt from their seated position on the stairs, pulling Carrie into their family hug.

\--------

Carrie was hugging herself as she watched Caitlin zip the body-bag closed. She didn't like the idea of leaving Farooq's body in one of the cells in the Pipeline but it was only temporary. It wasn't like they could call the corner...

“I coulda called him Blackout...” Cisco said softly.

“He had a name, Cisco,” Dr Wells replied.

“I...don't understand...why didn't he just siphon away all my powers like he did before?” Carrie asked in confusion.

“Because...” Caitlin said as she accepted a tablet from Dr Wells. “...you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them.”

She blinked at the doctor in confusion. “...what?”

“Here, look...” Caitlin tapped on the tablet, showing Carrie a what a slide of her blood must look like. “This is what your blood looked like right after you were stuck by lightning.”

“Okay...”

“And now...” she swiped her fingers over the tablet's screen, showing a new slid – one that had a lot more active and energetic blood cells. “Your blood cells are generating more energy than ever before. More energy than the meta could safely handle. Its almost like he choked on you.”

...that just sounded so wrong and from the look on Caitlin's face she agreed.

“What does that mean?” Cisco asked.

“It means you kicked it up a notch,” Dr Wells said with a faint smile a Carrie.

….and there she started blushing again.

Caitlin and Cisco started to depart from the Pipeline and she began to follow them before pausing and turning back towards where the scientist sat in his wheelchair, looking at the door that separated them from Farooq's body.

“Dr Wells...” she approached him nervously. “...what I said before, about how...how you don't care about people...I...”

A hand lifted from his armrest, quieting her. “No...” He turned his chair to face her full. “Look, I... Carrie, there is a reason that my biography describes me as arrogant, prickly, brusque--”

“--and at times contemptuous,” she finished, blushing worse as he stared at her with those piercing eyes. “I...read it. Twice.”

“You are right. I don't care much for people,” he confirmed. “Carrie...I find them misinformed, shortsighted...”

“So...” she stepped further towards him, stopping before him. “So why do you do what you do? Why get up in the morning?”

“Because I believe in a better future. “One that I very much want to see. One that you are a part of.”

He must not really understand how that can sound to a girl, Carrie decided, trying to not read into it something that probably wasn't there.

“I might not care much for people, Carrie, but...” He smiled faintly. “I care about you.”

Urgh she shouldn't read into what wasn't there. He probably saw her as a daughter or a protegee...

Swallowing hard, she fidgeted a bit before blurting, “And I...care a great deal about you too, Dr Wells. When...when I saw you there, about to be struck I...I could suddenly move again. I had to get to you, pull you to safety. I...you are very important to me.”

With a blur of her super-speed she moved forward, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling back. She was probably a whole new shade of red from how much she was blushing. “IhavetogocheckonEddienow!”

And like that, in a crackle of golden lightning, she was gone.

\-------------

Entering Eddie's hotel room with a glass vase of flowers, she was relieved to see Eddie was conscious and talking with Iris, their fingers entwined.

“Heyyyy, Carrie!” The loopy way Eddie was grinning suggested he was on some very good painkillers.

“Hey, Eddie,” she greeted, setting the flowers on the table behind Iris. She peered around her sister at him as he giggled faintly.

“Flowers. That is so nice.”

“...he is so high,” Carrie giggled to Iris.

“Yup. But he'll be okay.”

“...we should totally record this.” Carrie suggested wickedly.

“Only after I get some coffee,” Iris chuckled.

“Record what?” Hunter asked as he walked in.

“Hunter!” Eddie gave his best friend a loopy grin. “Carrie brought me flowers!” He tried to speak in a conspiratorial tone, not that it worked. “You should totally bring her flowers sometime, ya know! And not if she's hurt. I'll see if I can find out what she likes.”

“Christ, he's higher than the space station,” Hunter laughed as a faint blush graced his cheeks.

“Perfect blackmail material,” Joe agreed.

\------

Sitting on the treadmill in her red tracksuit, Carrie was lacing up her sneakers when Dr Wells came to a halt near her.

“You're here early,” he commented.

She looked up at him and blushed hotly before giving him a shy smile. “I know. It feels weird to me too.”

He wheeled the chair closer. “After the day you had yesterday, I would have thought you would have wanted to sleep in.”

“I can't. There's...too much work to do.” She pushed herself to her feet. “I want to push myself...to see how fast I can really go. You were right – this is not just about me.”

“Lets get to work.”

She nodded before climbing onto the treadmill; it activated beneath her starting strides and she ran under his watchful gaze.


End file.
